1. Field of the Invention
The present application concerns the field of emergency medical treatment and more particularly deals with an improved backboard or stretcher for use in safely transporting injured patients.
2. Description of Related Art
When an individual receives a traumatic injury in an automobile accident or similar mishap, survival often depends on rapid attention from emergency medical personnel followed by immediate transport to a properly equipped hospital. The emergency medical personnel who are first at the scene of the accident are responsible for treating any immediately life-threatening injuries and for stabilizing the patient for immediate transit to the hospital. One of the most vexing problems faced by these workers is that of neck and back injuries to the victim. Without an x-ray it is often impossible to determine the extent, if any, of the damage. If the spine is damaged, the very act of moving the patient may exacerbate the problem and lead to more extensive spinal injury.
There has been some controversy over the best way to treat these injuries prior to transport. Some authorities favor immobilizing the patient's neck and back in the orientation in which the patient was found. Other authorities favored moving the patient into a neutral position prior to immobilization. Today most practitioners follow the second option and immobilize the patient in a neutral position.
A number of devices and procedures have been developed to immobilize accident victims in a neutral position and allow transport with little or no danger of causing additional spinal damage. The common factor in most of these devices is the simple expedient of firmly attaching the patient to the surface of an stiff, inflexible "board" (backboard) which acts as a stretcher to allow the patient to be carried without allowing any flexing of the patients potentially injured back and neck. By "transport" is meant, of course, moving the immobilized patient to a hospital, but transport also includes moving the patient from the accident site to the transport vehicle (e.g., ambulance or helicopter). It is not uncommon that the victim will be in a ravine or some similarly inaccessible location.
This means that the emergency medical personnel must leave the vehicle and carry their equipment, including a backboard, to the site of the accident. Then the patient is freed from the accident debris, if necessary, placed on and secured to the backboard and then carried back to the transport vehicle. For these reasons the backboard must be relatively light while providing rigidity to avoid flexure during carrying of the patient. The backboard must also be equipped with straps or other hold-down devices so that the patient is immobilized and does not move around during the, sometimes rough and difficult, move from the accident site to the transport vehicle. These same immobilization devices also protect the patient from movement during vehicular transport back to the hospital. The ride in a speeding ambulance can be rough. Therefore, all steps must be taken to avoid exacerbation of the patient's injuries due to bouncing around.
A variety of backboards and similar devices have been developed to fill the need for a rigid, light and easy to use immobilization system for moving the injured. Typical of these devices is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,137 to Rose. The device is a typical rigid board to which a removable pad can be strapped to provide a cushion between the patient and the board. The straps that immobilize the patient can be attached to the pad so that a single strap/pad unit is formed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,445 to Jelsma et al. discloses a composite material board with quick disconnect devices for attaching a plurality of patient immobilization straps. A pediatric immobilization board is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,724 to Miller. That device comes equipped with a plethora of immobilizing straps and similar structures attached to an upper surface thereof.
These and similar devices common to the art consist of a rigid board and a separate assortment of straps. The problem common to these devices is where to put the straps prior to use? Ambulances and similar emergency vehicles are not known for their spacious interiors. Generally, the backboards are stacked and inserted into suitable compartments or niches in the vehicle. If the boards come with a preattached strap system as appears to be contemplated by devices such as that disclosed by Miller, the straps may prevent efficient stacking of the boards and make it difficult to store an adequate supply of backboards in the vehicle. If the straps are removed for storage so that the boards can be readily stacked, there can be a considerable delay in locating the stored straps and installing them on the board. Such a delay can mean the difference between life and death for a critically injured patient. Not only is there potential for delay, the emergency medical personnel may carry the board and straps to an inaccessible accident location only to discover that they have failed to bring a full complement of straps and similar attachment devices.